Up next for the Kings: Tuesday night at Colorado

Colorado will be without talented center Nathan MacKinnon against the Kings. He is out with a fractured foot. (LM Otero / Associated Press)

When: 6 p.m. PDT.

Where: Pepsi Arena.

On the air: TV: NBC Sports Network; Radio: 790.

Update: The Kings are slightly ahead of their pace during the 2011-12 season, in which they went on to win the Stanley Cup. Their 75 points are three more than they had at the same stage three years ago. Of course, they didn't qualify for the playoffs until their next-to-last game that season. For the Kings, the rest of March could be especially challenging; eight of the 11 games they have left this month are on the road.

They are chasing Vancouver in the Pacific Division and play the Canucks twice in a nine-day span — on the road Thursday and at home on March 21. The Kings make one more trip to Vancouver on April 6. For the underachieving Avalanche, last season's Calder Trophy winner for top rookie, Nathan MacKinnon, is expected to miss the rest of the season because of a fractured foot.